DON'T LOOK FOR FEDERAL OFFICE HERE ANYTIME SOON

A lot of people get squeamish when federal agents come knocking on their
door.

Yet, for local law enforcement officials fighting the uphill battle against
drugs, the phrase, "I'm with the federal government, I'm here to help you,"
really is a welcomed sound.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI) and even the Immigration and Naturalization Service
(INS) are just three of the federal agencies that play a valuable role in
finding, arresting and prosecuting drug dealers.

Their role is to assist the city, county and state police -- who say they'd
like a lot more help from the men and women who work for Uncle Sam.

They'd even like the federal government to consider basing some agents in
Northeast Nebraska.

But the chances that either of those things will happen are slim because of
limited resources and the new war on terrorism, say the federal agencies.

"The bottom line is funding," said FBI spokesman Larry Holmquist of Omaha.
"It would be nice if we had more agents to work with, but we have to use
bodies the most efficient way we can."

The way it works now is that officers from city, county and state police
departments coordinate drug investigations in their respective territories.
Some of the officers in Northeast Nebraska also belong to a multicounty drug
task force called SNARE.

When the local investigators need help from higher up, they call upon the
federal agents, most of whom are based in either Omaha or Sioux City.

Whom they call depends on what exactly they need:

If they need background records on immigrants, they might call INS officials
in Sioux City.

If they need help tracking someone across state lines or need someone to
retrieve records from a computer, they might call the FBI in Omaha.

If they need ongoing help on a drug trafficking case, they might call the
DEA, also in Omaha.

Sgt. Allan Walton, who heads the Nebraska State Patrol's drug investigations
in Northeast Nebraska, said the federal agencies don't provide
"sophisticated equipment or gobs of money." Rather, they provide
professional expertise and access to the federal grand jury system.

The grand jury system has the ability to compel testimony from informants
and grant them immunity. Prosecuting drug dealers in the federal system also
holds stiffer penalties than county and district prosecutions -- which is
good incentive for dealers to cooperate.

The only way to access the federal grand jury system is to have a federal
agency involved in the investigation. But the perennial problem of not
enough manpower and money plays a hand in staffing decisions at federal
agencies.

That problem has grown since Sept. 11 because the FBI and the INS are both
switching agents from focusing on narcotics to concentrating on
anti-terrorism.

The FBI has 11,000 agents in the United States and 70 agents working from
the Omaha office that covers Nebraska and Iowa, spokesman Holmquist said. He
couldn't say how many -- if any -- Nebraska agents would be switched but did
say 400 agents in the nation would be reassigned.

"A lot of the burden will fall on local and state officers to pick up the
slack," Holmquist said.

William Glaspy, spokesman for the DEA in Washington, said the DEA is trying
to cover for the 400 FBI agents "so these state and local agencies don't
feel that they have been abandoned by the federal government."

BASING FEDERAL agents in Northeast Nebraska would have a dual purpose.

It would allow for closer working relationships and a better understanding
of resources and talents, said Norfolk Police Chief Bill Mizner.

Mizner said drug enforcement is a team effort that requires officers to
develop working relationships. "It's one thing to know a phone number and
it's another thing to know an individual," Mizner said.

Basing federal agents here also could mean federal money from the HIDTA
(High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area) program could begin to flow into
Northeast Nebraska. The region has been designated a HIDTA region but as of
yet has received no funding. One requirement to receive HIDTA funds is to
have the involvement of a federal agency such as the DEA.

But representatives from the three federal agencies say it would take an act
of Congress -- literally -- to open up a new federal office in Norfolk.

With budget constraints and the new war on terrorism, they say there isn't
even any talk about that happening.